Has anyone done a Rick Steves tour before?
 

We (me and my husband) gave my mom a RS tour to Paris, but we are trying to convince her it will be okay to go. She's only been overseas once before (from the US) and it was with us. My husband and I were in a hotel with a RS tour in Vienna this fall and they seemed happy enough so we thought we'd give it a shot for her.

Curious about first-hand experiences, if there are any, with a special emphasis about people on the tour alone. Or any tour alone for that matter.

TIA,

<font color=#990033>~gnr~</font>

Do a Steves search in
Fodors and you'll find a wealth of comments as this subject has been covered ad nauseum by Fodorites. The jury is out on Steves himself as either a travel visionary who discovered every nice place in Europe or a full of himself egomaniac but it seems his tours rate well unless you're looking for luxury.

Thanks. I will do a search. I knew there was a lengthy thread on &quot;Who is Rick Steves?&quot; but I hadn't seen anything specific about the tours.

<font color=#990033>~gnr~</font>

We ran across a RS tour in Vernazza a few years ago. The group was lively and not at all elderly, like many tours. There were only about 16 people, I seem to recall. We had a great time one night drinking and talking with the guide and bus driver during their time off.

This summer we spent a few nights in Switzerland - and while there 2 different Rick Steve's tours came through. Both appeared to be having the time of their lives - it seemed many folks that didn't start as friends had become friends ... and the ages went from early teens to retired. I've never considered a tour - but I must say I was impressed.

Go to ricksteves.com and there you will find comments from the people who took the tours. I think they do well for the novice traveler and as others have noted, she may make some new friends. For me, that is one of the best things about travel - the friendships.

As rj007 says, there are traveler comments on Rick Steves' Web site. Here's the exact location:

http://tours.ricksteves.com/evaluation/publicevals/

He claims that the comments are &quot;uncensored&quot;. I skimmed some of the Paris comments, finding them mostly positive. The few negative comments were constructive, which means that Rick's customers are polite and sophisticated, or that his employees are good at weeding out anything really negative. Let your mom be the judge. I hope she'll have a great trip!

Paul Marcelin-Sampson
Santa Cruz, California, USA

We have friends who just took a Rick Steves trip to Italy. They LOVED it. They are very very active, athletic people. I was sort of surprised as I figured them for independent travel. Anyway..they said it was very strenuous. ...but great!

They are not foodies but liked the food they said.

We haven't taken one of his tour but were in a hotel in Switzerland with one of his tour groups. Their guide had arranged for a traditional music evening and invited all of the guests in the hotel to attend which I thought was very nice. The group seemed like a great, friendly group that seemed to have connected well with one another. We spoke with several of the members who all reported a positve experience including one who had travelled quite a bit before and was taking his first tour. He spoke encouragingly of both approaches. I think your mom would have a great time (and would encourage my mom to go if she had the chance.)

I have taken two Rick Steves tours. I was never a tour person before, having gone on my own for years and enjoying doing my own planning.

I decided to try his tours when it became harder to find travelling companions. I have to say I enjoyed his tours immensely. They attract a varied, interesting and fun-loving following. He uses excellent guides and follows well-planned itineries.

In doing more research into other companies, I now realize he may be charging a lot for what is provided, but I still enjoyed my experiences and would go with him again.

I took a Rick Steves 7 day London tour in September and loved it. I had no one to travel with and thought that would be a good way for me to go. I did not pay for a single supplement and had a great roommate assigned to me. There were about 7 single women, the rest couples, and ages ranged from the 20s to at least the 60s. Our tour guide was great and very helpful with things to do during free time, and there was always someone in the group to have dinner with or spend time with. I figured out what it would cost me to go on my own and thought the Rick Steves tour a good bargain.

Glad I'm getting responses. I did a search and didn't really find anyone who had actually been on a tour, just people saying not to do it because you should plan it yourself.

Keep the comments coming and thanks.

~gnr~

I haven't, but am friends with 2 couples that have and both have loved them. One is taking another one in May.

I love planning trips and feel very comfortable doing so in Western Europe, but I would seriously consider going on one of his tours to Central Europe.